Top Taliban arrested in Pakistan

One of the highest ranking Taliban officials in Pakistan has been arrested with four other militants in the country's north-west, officials say.

Muslim Khan was a key spokesman for the Taliban in the Swat valley as well as being one of the most senior militant commanders there.

The army recently staged an offensive there, which it declared a success.

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says this is a significant milestone for the army's operation in Swat.

One of the chief criticisms of the military operation there has been that it failed to net the top Taliban leadership in the region, our correspondent says.

The whereabouts and fate of the Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, is currently unknown.

After reports that he was close to death earlier this year after being seriously wounded, Muslim Khan contacted the BBC to say the Taliban chief was "alive and healthy".

The military said Mr Khan was apprehended after a "successful operation".

He was detained along with fellow militant Mahmood Khan, also reported to be one of the most senior Taliban commanders in Swat.

The militants had rewards of 10 million rupees ($121,000) on their heads.

The latest fighting in the Swat valley began in April when Pakistani Taliban forces expanded their operations into districts only 96km (60 miles) from the capital.

Under the terms of a peace deal, militants were expected to disarm in exchange for the implementation of Sharia law throughout the Malakand division, which includes Swat valley.

The army accused the Taliban of reneging on the deal. As the fighting intensified some two million people were displaced.

Although many have returned to the district, there is still unrest and bloodshed in the trouble district.

In recent weeks, more than 200 corpses have been found across valley.

The killings have been carried out execution-style and the bodies are believed to be of suspected Taliban militants.

Security forces have strenuously denied carrying out extra-judicial killings as part of their anti-Taliban offensive.

The Taliban in Pakistan recently confirmed the death of its leader, Baitullah Mehsud, who was reported to have been killed by a US missile strike earlier this month.

Militant commander Hakimullah Mehsud was named as his successor.